One doesn’t have to look very far to see why the Atlanta Falcons missed the playoffs last year. Yes, the team was banged up a bit, missing quarterback Matt Ryan and leading rusher Michael Turner for a good chunk of the season.

But no matter what that vengeful Falcon threw at the once “cursed” franchise that failed to post back-to-back winning seasons in its not-so-storied history, Matty “Ice” and the gang somehow rose above it to post a 9-7 record.

In previous years, the franchise, which had a coach quit on them and its franchise quarterback spend over a year in prison for his involvement in dog fighting, would have packed it in.

The fact that the Falcons fought to the bitter end when well out of the playoffs is a testament to coach Mike Smith and the organization as a whole. The organization went out and improved the team in the offseason to try to ensure that 2009 will be the only season the Falcons miss the playoffs in the years to come.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Atlanta’s biggest deficiency was on defense last season. The club finished in the bottom 12 in total defense and was a putrid 28th out of 32 against the pass. The Falcons also finished with just 28 sacks, tied for fifth worst in the league.

GM Thomas Dimitroff quickly jumped into the free agent market, luring cornerback Dunta Robinson,

the self proclaimed “best cornerback in the NFL,” away from the Houston Texans hours after the free agent period opened. He also added LB Sean Weatherspoon with Atlanta’s first pick in the 2010 draft and brought in former Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants defensive coordinator Tim Lewis to work with the much maligned secondary.

Those moves alone should move Atlanta’s defense to the middle of the pack. Whether or not the D can make that next step will depend on what happens on the line.

One can only hope that age hasn’t caught up with 32-year-old perennial All-Pro John Abraham, who had a downright brutal 2009 campaign, recording just 5-1/2 sacks a year removed from a career-best 16-1/2 sack season. The D-line should also get a boost with a healthy Peria Jerry, Atlanta’s 2008 first round pick whose season was cut short after he suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 2.

But Atlanta clearly still has some work to do.

A recurring storyline will be who lines up on the opposite side of Robinson at the other corner position, which is turning into quite the fight between Brian Williams, Brent Grimes, Chevis Jackson and Chris Owens.

The Falcons also hope that Kroy Biermann will soar on the other side of Abraham at the defensive end and that Jamaal Anderson will somehow find his game in his new “swing” role as a defensive end/tackle combo. Anderson has been one of the biggest busts ever for Atlanta.

The eighth overall pick in the 2007 draft recorded just 1/2 of a sack last season and has 2-1/2 sacks in his three-year NFL career.

Sprinkle in an improved defense with a resurgent Ryan, who gets out of his sophomore slump, and add a healthy and in-shape Turner and the Falcons could reach new heights in 2010.

-- PHIL FOLEY
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There is no shortage of questions as the Falcons head into camp with hopes of dethroning the Super Bowl-champion Saints from their perch atop the NFC South.

Can Matt Ryan show marked improvement in camp and get over a sophomore jinx that saw his completion percentage and yards per pass go down and his interceptions go up? Can defensive lineman Peria Jerry and WR Harry Douglas rebound quickly from their season-robbing injuries? Can rookie OLB Sean Weatherspoon live up to the hype as a dominant third-down defender? If the answers are yes, the Falcons' immediate future could be bright.

I'll also be keeping an eye on CB Dunta Robinson. Will he shore up a leaky defense that finished 28th against the pass last season? It's also worth noting that the battle alongside Robinson is turning into quite the fight among Brian Williams, Brent Grimes, Chevis Jackson and Chris Owens. But the biggest question is whether the Falcons can stay healthy. Just about every team says that, but injuries really robbed them of a chance at the playoffs last season.

-- PHIL FOLEY
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Cs may get degrees, but will it be enough to improve the Atlanta Falcons?

Color the experts unimpressed with Atlanta’s seven selections in the 2010 draft.

ESPN’s Mel Kiper was particularly underwhelmed by GM Thomas Dimitroff’s third draft, giving the Dirty Birds a C- and calling third round pick DT Corey Peters a “stretch” at 83. The Falcons, he claims, are not an improved football team.

NFL Fanhouse’s Chris Burke said that something went awry after the first-round selection of LB Sean Weatherspoon. Another C.

CBS Sportsline’s Rob Rang was slightly more complimentary to the Falcons, giving them a B- and crediting Dimitroff for picking up CB Dominique Franks in the fifth round.

The fans also chimed in with a less than stellar grade, giving the Dirty Birds a B- on nfl.com. Only the Buffalo Bills (C+), Chicago Bears (C+) and Jacksonville Jaguars (C) rated lower.

So why is Dimitroff's third try at molding the franchise getting less than stellar reviews?

It comes down to what he didn’t do: draft the defensive end that he was supposed to.

“We were focused (on a defensive end) the first round,” Dimitroff told reporters. “We decided that with the movement up to the point on picking Sean Weatherspoon that we were going to go with a linebacker.

“Past that point there were a certain amount of defensive ends that we’d consider. It got to a point (where were there wasn’t any left). People that we thought could come in here and be a marquee player for years to come, those players usually go off the board quite a bit earlier than we might have considered.”

Yep, the Falcons may have been outmaneuvered.

DE John Abraham struggled last season, recording just 5 1/2 sacks, the third-lowest total in his 10-year career. Jamaal Anderson has been a bust, amassing just 2 1/2 sacks in 34 starts with the Falcons.

Atlanta will also rely more upon Kroy Biermann, who had a career-best five sacks last season. Plus, the unit should welcome back Peria Jerry. The defensive tackle missed most of his rookie campaign with an injury.

They also nabbed Peters in the third round,

Nevertheless, the question remains whether the Falcons did enough to shore up their anemic pass rush, which finished tied for 26th in the league last season with just 28 sacks.

Atlanta’s architect sure thinks so.

“There are a number of ways to eliminate the explosive plays in the passing game and to improve our pass rush,” Dimitroff said. “Not just on the outside, but through the inside and with pressure being created with linebacker blitzes. We have a linebacker (in Weatherspoon) that has just joined us in the draft who has legitimate speed. I think we can be creative going forward.”

If Abraham returns to form, if Biermann continues to develop, if Anderson somehow manages to find his potential and if the Falcons indeed become creative, this could all be much ado about nothing.

However, if the so-called experts are right, 2010 could be a challenging campaign for the Dirty Birds. Only time will tell.

-- PHIL FOLEY
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Setting The Stage For 2010 NFL Draft




The view of the draft stage from press row:


Pre-Draft Buzz From The Press Box, Radio City 2010




The view from the draft stage:



Firing Up The Crowd At 2010 NFL Draft




Lawrence Taylor greets Rod Woodson in the gathering of legends:



New York Fans Boo Dan Marino




Jim Brown, Jerry Rice and Barry Sanders are among the legends honored on stage:


Bucs Pick Gerald McCoy Hugs It Out With The Commish




The Chiefs Are On The Clock




ESPN's Adam Schefter makes a point in the press box between Twitter updates and on-camera appearances:


New Browns CB Joe Haden Wants LeBron To Stay In Cleveland




Bills pick C.J. Spiller gets swarmed by cameras as he moves from the green room to the stage:


Jets Fans Meet "The Draft Queen"




The Professor works the press box:


Eagles And Giants Fans Face Off




Eagles Fans React To First-Round Pick




The NFL salutes the U.S. military:


Jets Fans React To The Selection Of CB Kyle Wilson

Cheering at the draft can build an appetite. Check out the line at the snack bar:



-- ERIC HERD, SEAN JOHNSON, BRANDON KOPCEUCH, TERRY LONG
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Target acquired.

The Atlanta Falcons used the No. 19 pick to nab former Missouri Tigers OLB Sean Weatherspoon in the first round of the three-day NFL Draft marathon on Thursday.

The second-team All-American fills one of the more pressing needs for the Falcons, who finished 28th in the league against the pass last season.

“We were very excited to have to have the opportunity to take an outside linebacker who’s going to ramp up our speed, our enthusiasm, our athleticism,” GM Thomas Dimitroff told the media after the selection. “We felt that a cover-type linebacker, who has speed and flies around the football, was in our best interest. We got the guy we were targeting all along.”

Weatherspoon brings athleticism and talent to an Atlanta defensive unit that was part ineffective and part decimated by injuries last season.

Blessed with blazing speed –- he improved his time in the 40-yard dash to the mid-4.4 range during

the Combines –- the 22-year-old charismatic outside linebacker projects to play on the right side of Atlanta’s defense next season. He should challenge Mike Peterson and Stephen Nicholas for one of the outside linebacker jobs at training camp.

Weatherspoon bulked up to 251 pounds last season so that he could play inside linebacker in the Tigers’ 3-4 defense. He recorded 4.5 sacks, 14.5 tackles for losses and 111 tackles overall. While at outside linebacker, Weatherspoon’s junior numbers were better – five sacks, 18.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage and 155 tackles.

The South Carolina native is back to his ideal weight 239 pounds to get ready for the rigors of his first NFL season. And he’s thrilled to be in the Dirty Birds’ roost.

“I’m a Falcon!!!,” he Tweeted minutes before his selection was announced.

Dimitroff has made defense a priority this season, inking free agent cornerback Dunta Robinson to a six-year, $57 million contract. They also hope to have a full season from 2009 first-round pick Peria Jerry, who sustained a season-ending injury in the Falcons’ second game.

The NFL draft continues on Friday with the second and third rounds. Atlanta shipped its second round pick to Kansas City for Tony Gonzalez, but have a pair of picks in the third round (No. 83 and No. 98).

-- PHIL FOLEY
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